SDPB and Public Media across the nation has been targeted by executive order

On May 1, President Trump issued an executive order prohibiting federal funds in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to go to NPR or PBS and from member stations (like SDPB) to fund these organizations. 

Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), issued the following statement on May 2 regarding the President’s Executive Order on public media:

“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority. Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government. 

“In creating CPB, Congress expressly forbade ‘any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors…’ 47 U.S.C. § 398(c).”

Those of us at SDPB remain diligent in pursuing our journalism, entertainment, and educational work as this situation plays out in the courts. If this prohibition were to proceed, it would be devastating for the public media system in our country. We encourage you to contact our three members of Congress and express your support for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and SDPB. 

We encourage you to contact our representatives in Washington and tell them how important federal funding for SDPB is to you.